GRAMMATICAL PROBLEMS IN ENGLISH–UZBEK TRANSLATION

Abstract

English–Uzbek translation becomes tricky very quickly once we move beyond vocabulary and start dealing with grammar, because the two languages organize meaning in different ways. This article explains the most common grammatical problem zones—articles, tense/aspect, word order, voice, non-finite forms (-ing, infinitives), and modality—and shows why “literal” grammar transfer often causes meaning shift or unnatural style. Recent Uzbek-focused studies highlight that translators repeatedly struggle with these differences, especially because English is more analytic with fixed word order while Uzbek is agglutinative and more flexible in syntax. The paper uses short examples with commentary to show what goes wrong and what usually fixes it (restructuring, transposition, controlled explicitation, and pragmatic adjustment). The discussion also links these problems to the idea of translation shifts—departures from formal correspondence that are often necessary to keep meaning stable. The article concludes with a practical checklist that students and beginner translators can use to reduce grammar-based errors.